tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7014209.post3355953394431238455..comments2024-03-28T14:55:27.949+02:00Comments on My Right Word: A New Testament Mistranslation in a Torah LectureYMedadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14333122797414935958noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7014209.post-76717406673720955032014-09-27T22:05:13.753+03:002014-09-27T22:05:13.753+03:00A friend referred me to a picture of a carving on ...A friend referred me to a picture of a carving on the side of a shul. the text was:<br />פתחו לי פתח של מחט ואני אפתח לכם פתח של אדוני<br /><br />Open for me a door--<br /><br />I'm not certain of the citation, but the quote is different from the passage you have cited in that there is no reference to wagons, elephants or even space shuttles. :)<br />What is see is a bit of eisegesis going on in a sort of cyclical arguement. Every time the thought is expressed an interpretation is made before reducing it to a quote. So the writers personal understanding filters and alters the meaning of the original midrash, itself an interpretation of Tanach.<br />That doesn't insure error, but it encourages fuzzy thinking on a subject.<br /><br />Another interesting point is the interpretation you put on Matt. 19:24 and the discussion you refer to: Elephants and needle eyes.<br />It's true that the hearers of Matt would have thought wealth was an evidence of God's approval. And that leads you to an interpretation of Matt that suggests no man can save himself. (I hope I've avoided eisegesis in interpreting your point).<br />I'm certain the teachings of Jesus/Yeshua lend themselves to the interpretation that only Adonai can bring salvation. But this passage has its own context. The statement about the eye of the needle is a third window comment about a discussion he'd just concluded with an observant Pharisi.<br />In the discussion the young man asks Yeshua what must he do to be saved. Jesus obliquely tlls him to keep the Kashrut and Torah. The man obviously doubts his standing in the eyes of Adonai, because he answers, "All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?" (Matt 19:20).<br />Yeshua's response is to demand the man convert all his wealth to money and follow him. The meaning is clear. Yeshua has identified the thing that is blocking the young man's door, his love of wealth. This is the thing that has weighed on his heart and kept him from feeling fullfillment in his Orthodox Observance.<br />In this context the greek interpretation of midrash as "eye of the needle" is in keeping with your point about an improbably small thing.<br />In other words it is improbable for a rich man to see Meshiach.<br /><br />So whether you interpret the Midrash as meaning a hole poked by a needle or the eye where you thread it, either is a silly image when you think of a camel passing through (or a small moon).<br /><br />One interpretation of the Matt passage I've heard was intended as an apology for the Rich. The speaker claimed the sally port beside the Gate Beautiful was called The Eye of the Needle. Thus it was only as improbable as a camel that could crawl on its belly through a doorway, a doorway of a needle.<br /><br />פתח של מחט <br /><br />So we are right back where we started.Fredhttp://rfgrenvile.comnoreply@blogger.com